Report  on  the  Locusts 
of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
D.W. Coquillett 


ENTOMOLOGY 
LIBRARY 


. 

AGRICULTURAL 
LIBRARY, 

UNIVERSITY 


CALIFORNIA. 


REPOKT 


ON    THE 


,OCUSTS  OF  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY,  CAL 

BY 

D.    W.    COQUIllLETT. 


[Extracted  from  the  Report  of  the  Entomologist,  U.  S.  Department 
of  Agriculture,  for  1885.] 

1886. 


AUTHOR'S!    KDITION. 


11  E  P  0  R  T 


ON   THE 


LOCUSTS  OF  THE  SAN  JOAQUIN  VALLEY,  CAL 


BY 

D.    \V.    COQUILLETT. 


[Extracted  from  the  Report  of  the  Entomologist,  U.  8.  Department 
of  Agriculture,  for  18W5.] 

1886. 


10010  co 1 


ENTOMOLOGY 
LIBRAE* 


REPORT  ON  THE  LOCUSTS  OF  THE  SAN  JOAQ.UIN  VALLEY,  CALI- 
FORNIA/ 

By  D.  W.  COQUILLETT. 

ANAHEIM,  Los  ANGELES  COUNTY,  CALIFORNIA, 

September  1,  1685. 

DEAR  SIR  :  I  herewith  transmit  to  yon  my  report  upon  the  Locusts  of  the  San  Joa 
quin  Valley,  California. 

In  accordance  with  your  telegram  of  the  1st  of  June,  I  proceeded  to  Stockton  for  the 
purpose  of  interviewing  Mr.  G.  N.  Milco,  one  of  the  members  of  the  State  Horticult- 
ural Commission,  in  order  to  ascertain  from  him  what  part  of  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
was  most  infested  with  locusts.  I  learned  from  him  that  they  were  about  as  numerous 
in  the  vicinity  of  Merced,  in  Merced  County,  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  valley,  and 
he  invited  me  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Bnhach  plantation — of  which  he  is  part;  owner — 
which  is  situated  about  6  miles  west  of  the  village  of  Merced,  adding  that  if  I  found 
the  locality  to  be  a  desirable  one  I  would  be  perfectly  welcome  to  remain  at  the  plan- 
tation for  as  long  a  time  as  1  desired.  A  few  minutes  later  I  had  an  interview  with 
the  other  proprietor  of  this  plantation,  Mr.  J.  D.  Peters,  a  prominent  business  man  of 
Stockton,  who,  upon  learning  my  mission,  also  invited  me  to  visit  the  Buhach  planta- 
tion and  remain  there  as  long  as  I  wished.  Accordingly  I  proceeded  at  once  to  the 
above  plantation,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Peters,  and  finding  it  to  be  a  very  desirable 
location — the  locusts  "being  very  abundant,  and  every  thing  necessary  being  offered 
me  for  the  prosecution  of  my  studies— I  concluded  to  make  this  plantation  niy  head- 
quarters. 

Already  the  locusts  had  almost  wholly  defoliated  several  collections  of  trees  and 
shrubs  growing  around  the  residences  in  this  valley,  and  many  alfalfa  and  grain  fields* 
literally  swarmed  with  them. 

About  the  middle  of  June  the  superintendent  of  the  Bnhach  plantation,  Mr.  G.  E_ 
Ladd,  who  extended  me  every  facility  in  his  power  to  aid  me  in  study  ing  up  the  locust, 
problem  in  this  valley,  wrote  to  the  superintendent  of  the  Natoma  vineyard,  near  Fol 

*The  following  letter  of  instructions  will  indicate  the  points  upon  which  informa- 
tion was  needed : 

DEPARTMENT  OF  AGRICULTURE, 

DIVISION  OF  ENTOMOLOGY, 

Washington,  D.  C.,  June  1, 1885. 

DEAR  SIR:  In  accordance  with  my  telegram  and  the  inclosed  commission,  I  wish 
yon  to  give  your  time  for  from  six  to  eight  weeks  or  more,  as  occasion  may  require,  to 
a  thorough  examination  of  the  Locust  troubles  in  California.  You  are  doubtless  fa- 
miliar with  the  work  of  the  United  States  Entomological  Commission  on  Caloptenus 
vpretus,  and  of  course  it  will  not  be  necessary  that  yon  repeat  descriptions  of  any  of 
the  remedies  there  given  in  detail  or  illustrated.  I  wish  information  as  to  the  amount 
of  damage;  as  to  the  range;  as  to  the  source  and  movements  both  of  the  young  and 
tin-  winged  ;  the  kinds  of  soil  in  which  they  are  hatched  most  abundantly,  and  every- 
thing pertaining  to  their  natural  history,  which  will  ot  course  be  found  very  similar  to 
that  of  Npreliin.  Accounts,  as  far  as  possible  with  illustrations,  of  all  partieular  meas- 
ures adopted  that  an-  different  from  those  adopted  in  the,  East;  observations  on  enemies 
and  parasites,  and,  in  fact,  as  full  a  statement  of  the  whole  subject  as  will  permit  you 
to  make  a  satisfactory  report,  to  be  published  by  the  Department. 

You  should  send  on  specimens  properly  preserved  of  the  insect  in  its  different  stages, 
together  with  egg-pods,  and  particularly  all  parasites  and  other  enemies  fonnr7.  attack- 
ing it.  *  *  * 

Yours  very  truly, 

C.  V.  RILEY, 

Entomologist. 

D.  W.  COQUILLETT,  272681 

Anaheim,  Cat. 

3 


eoni,  in  Sacramento  County,  asking  him  what  remedies  he  had  used  for  destroying  the 
locusts,  and  also  what  success  he  had  had  with  them,  and  received  a  reply  stating  that 
he  had  been  experimenting  with  a  mixture  composed  of  arsenic,  sugar,  middlings,  and 
water,  and  was  of  the  opinion  that  this  would  prove  a  decided  success. 

About  this  time  Messrs.  George  West  and  Thomas  Mint-urn,  two  of  the  proprietors  of 
the  extensive  orchard  and  vineyard  of  Kohler,  West  <fc  Minturn,  at  Minturu  Station, 
in  Fresno  County,  pafd  a  visit  to  the  Natoma  vineyard  for  the  purpose  of  learning  more 
about  the  above  remedy,  and  were  so  much  pleased  wich  what  they  saw  of  its  effects 
upon  the  locusts  that  they  determined  to  try  it  upon  their  own  orchard  and  vineyard 
at  Minturn  Station,  and  invited  Mr.  Ladd  and  myself  to  visit  them  and  witness  the 
results  of  the  experiments.  Accordingly,  on  the  24th  of  June,  we  proceeded  to  Mill- 
turn  Station,  and  from  what  we  there  saw  of  the  effects  of  this  remedy,  were  con- 
vinced that  it  was  a  decided  success. 

About  the  12th  of  July,  Messrs.  Milco  &  Peters  sent  to  the  Buhach  plantation  1,000 
pounds  of  arsenic,  an  equal  quantity  of  sugar,  and  about  3  tons  of  bran,  to  be  used  in 
poisoning  the  locusts  upon  about  300  acres  of  the  plantation  that  was  plained  out  to 
fruit  trees  and  grape-vines.  Bran  has  been  substituted  for  the  middlings,  not  only 
on  account  of  its  being  cheaper,  but  also  from  the  fact  that  in  drying  after  having 
been  wet,  it  forms  a  jagged  mass,  which  otters  the  locusts  a  chance  to  feed  upon  it; 
whereas  middlings,  in  drying,  being  much  finer  than  bran,  forms  a  smooth,  even 
mass,  which  gives  the  locusts  no  chance  to  get  a  bite  of  it.  During  the  next  two  days 
about  two- fifths  of  the  above  materials  were  mixed  and  put  out  upon  the  300  acres 
mentioned  above,  and  this  was  repeated  about  one  week  later.  After  the  expiration 
of  a  week  after  this  second  batch  had  been  put  out  there  were  at  least  400  dead  locusts 
to  every  living  one. 

I  remained  at  the  Buhach  plantation  until  the  first  wreek  in  August,  when,  in  ac- 
cordance with  your  request  for  me  to  return  to  niy  home  and  write  my  report,  I  took 
the  train  for  Anaheim  on  the  «th  of  August,  arid  arrived  at  my  destination  the  next 
day.  A  few  days  before  this  I  paid  a  visit  to  Messrs.  Milco  &  Peters,  at  Stockton, 
but  could  not  prevail  upon  them  to  receive  any  compeusalion  whateverfor  my  board, 
&c.,  while  at  their  plantation.  During  my  stay  at  the  plantation  these  gentlemen 
did  all  in  their  power  to  aid  me  in  my  studies,  and  Mr.  Milco  visited  the  plantation 
several  times  while  I  was  staying  Jjhere,  and  assisted  me  much. 

To  both  of  these  gentlemen,  and  also  to  Mr.  Ladd,  the  superintendent,  my  warmest 
thanks  are  due.     To  Dr.  P.  R.  Uhler  I  am  indebted  for  the  determination  of  several 
species  of  locusts ;  and  last,  but  by  no  means  least,  I  am  especially  indebted  to  your- 
self for  determinations  and  other  help. 
Respectfully  yours, 

D.  W.  COQUILLETT. 

Prof.  C.  V.  RILEY, 

V.  S.  Entomologist. 

The  following  pages  comprise  a  report  of  iny  observations  upon  the 
locusts  of  the  San  Joaquiu  Valley,  California,  during  the  months  of  June 
and  July,  1885. 

I  was  located  at  the  Buhach  plantation,  which  is  situated  about  6 
miles  west  of  the  village  of  Merced,  in  Merced  County.  This  plantation 
consists  of  about  400  acres,  the  greater  part  of  \\hich  is  planted  out  to 
fruit  trees  and  grape-vines.  It  is  situated  in  the  midst  of  a  great  grain- 
growing  region,  and  on  every  side  of  it  grain  fields  stretch  away  almost 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  dotted  here  and  there  by  the  residences  of 
the  grain  growers  or  of  their  tenants,  and  by  the  fruit  and  ornamental 
trees  which  usually  surround  these  residences. 

When  I  arrived  at  this  plantation  early  in  the  month  of  June,  the 
locusts  were  already  in  possession,  but  they  were  chiefly  found  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Lornbardy  poplar  trees  which  grew  along  the  banks  of 
almost"  every  irrigating  ditch  upon  the  plantation.  Already  many  of 
these  trees  were  beginning  to  show  evidences  of  the  work  of  the  locusts, 
the  leaves  presenting  the  appearance  of  having  been  riddled  by  hail- 
stones. Many  of  the  grape-vines  growing  next  to  these  trees  were  also 
infested  by  locusts,  which  had  not  only  stripped  many  of  them  of  their 
leaves,  but  had  also  gnawed  off  the  buds  and  tender  bark. 

The  locusts  were  confined  to  the  trees  and  grape-vines  growing  along 


the  outer  edges  of  the  orchards  and  vineyards,  but  later  in  the  season 
they  gradually  spread  all  over  the  plantation.  They  seemed  to  prefer 
the  leaves  of  poplar  trees  and  grape-vines  to  any  others,  and  were  espe- 
cially fond  of  the  tender  bark  of  grape-vines.  While  they  would  eat 
the  leaves  of  almost  every  kind  of  tree,  shrub,  and  plant  growing*  upon 
the  plantation,  yet  they  manifested  an  evident  preference  for  certain 
kinds.  The  leaves  of  peach  trees  were  not  much  relished  by  them,  but 
the  fruit  was  eagerly  eaten,  and  upon  bearing  peach  trees  that  had  been 
much  infested  by  the  locusts  it  was  no  uncommon  sight  to  see  nothing 
but  the  leaves  and  naked  pits  remaining.  Fig  and  pomegranate  trees 
suffered  but  little  from  their  attack,  as  did  also  gum  and  evergreen 
trees.  I  saw  a  small,  barrel-shaped  cactus  which  had  its  inside  eaten 
out  by  the  locusts.  H 

Plants  covered  with  sacking  did  not  escape  the  attacks  of  the  locusts, 
which  gnawed  holes  into  the  sacking  and  then  entered  and  devoured 
the  leaves  of  the  inclosed  plant.  One  lady  sought  to  save  a  favorite 
plant  by  turning  a  washtub  over  it,  but  upon  removing  the  tub  a  few 
days  later  she  found  that  the  leaves  had  been  entirety  stripped  from  the 
plant. 

Fields  of  alfalfa  suffered  very  severely  from  the  attack  of  the  locusts  ; 
the  latter  were  also  very  destructive  to  beans,  cabbage,  and  tomatoes, 
but  corn,  melon,  and  pumpkin  vines  were  not  much  injured  by  them. 

The  pyrethrum  plants — from  the  flowers  of  which  the  insect  powder 
known  as  "  Buhach"  is  produced — were  not  much  injured  by  the  locusts. 
In  places  where  the  plants  had  been  considerably  eaten  I  found  many 
locusts  which  acted  very  much  as  those  do  that  have  been  sprayed  with 
a  solution  of  buhach  and  water  ;  they  had  completely  lost  the  use  of 
their  legs  and  were  lying  upon  the  ground  in  a  very  helpless  condition, 
occasionally  jerking  a  leg  or  moving  a  foot.  Several  of  them  were  dead, 
evidently  having  partaken  too  freely  of  the  leaves  of  the  pyrethrum 
plants,  as  no  poison  had  been  put  out  up  to  this  time. 

Wheat  fields,  as  a  rule,  were  but  little  injured  by  the  locusts,  the 
principal  injury  being  done  by  biting  off'  a  small  proportion  of  the  heads 
and  allowing  them  to  fall  upon  the  ground.  Late-sown  wheat  suffered 
the  most,  and  several  fields  were  injured  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
were  not  harvested. 

Eye  fields  were  generally  much  injured  by  the  locusts,  which  devoured 
the  exposed  kernels  in  the  heads  ;  I  have  examined  many  heads  of  rye 
in  which  every  kernel  had  been  devoured.  Mr.  D.  W.  Swain  estimated 
that  he  had  lost  fully  one  third  of  his  crop  of  rye  on  COO  acres  through 
the  attacks  of  locusts.  The  reason  that  they  were  more  destructive  to 
rye  than  to  either  wheat  or  barley  is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the 
kernels  of  wheat  and  barley  are  wholly  inclosed  in  a  husk,  whereas  the 
kernels  of  rye  are  exposed  to  view. 

SPECIES   OF   LOCUSTS   MOST   DESTRUCTIVE. 

I  captured  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  no  less  than  twenty  different 
species  of  locusts  belonging  to  the  subfamilies  Acridinct'  and  (Edipodince, 
but  the  principal  damage  was  committed  by  four  species,  three  of  which 
belonged  to  the  Acridincv  or  Spine- breasted  Locusts. 

The  species  which  appeared  in  the  greatest  numbers  was  the  Devas- 
tating Locust  (Melanoplus  devastator  Scudder),  which  outnumbered  all 
of  the  other  species  combined,  in  the  proportion  of  at  least  seven  to  one. 
It  was  accompanied  by  the  Ash  colored  Locust  (Melanoplus  cinereus 


Scudder)  which  was  about  one-twentieth  as  abundant  as  the  former 
species.  These  two  species  were  the  ones  that  were  the  most  destructive 
to  the  larger  fruit  and  ornamental  trees,  and  they  are  the  only  ones 
that  I  saw  feeding  upon  the  ripe  kernels  of  rye  in  the  fields. 

During  the  hottest  part  of  the  day  they  would  sometimes  take  to  their 
wings  and  fly  to  a  distance  of  from  50  to  100  yards  at  a  time.  All  of 
them  would  not  start  up  at  once,  but  one  would  start  up  here,  another 
there,  and  so  on,  each  apparently  going  entirely  independent  of  the 
others.  When  the  weather  was  perfectly  calm  they  would  fly  in  every 
direction,  but  Whenever  there  was  a  gentle  breeze  blowing  they  would 
fly  against  it ;  they  would  not  attempt  to  fly  when  the  wind  was  blow- 
ing hard. 

Sometimes  when  there  was  a  perfect  calm  one  would  start  up  and  fly 
a  short  distance,  when,  the  breeze*  tarting  up,  he  would  turn  and  fly 
against  it ;  but  when  it  would  begin  to  blow  quite  hard  he  would  again 
turn  about  and  fly  with  the  wind  for  a  short  distance  and  then  alight. 

In  these  migrations,  if  one  of  the  locusts  were  to  fly  against  a  tall 
tree  he  would  alight  there  and  remain  for  some  time,  but  if  he  missed 
the  tree  he  would  continue  his  flight  sometimes  until  lost  to  view;  at 
other  times  he  would  gradually  approach  the  earth  and  finally  alight, 
either  upon  the  bare  earth  or  upon  any  plant,  shrub,  tree,  or  other  ob- 
ject that  chanced  to  be  in  his  way. 

These  locusts  do  not  seem  to  be  able  to  fly  in  any  direction  that  they 
may  choose,  nor  to  alight  in  any  particular  place,  alighting  as  often  in 
the  water  or  upon  the  bare  ground  as  upon  plants.  In  migrating  from 
the  fields  to  a  collection  of  trees  of  any  kind  a  very  few  of  them  will 
alight  in  the  trees,  but  the  greater  number  will  drop  upon  the  ground 
and  afterward  crawl  to  a  tree  and  ascend  its  trunk. 

The  Ash-colored  Locust  (M,  cinereus)  flies  with  greater  ease  than  the 
Devastating  Locust  (M.  devastator).  Both  species  fly  in  a  nearly  straight 
line,  and  at  a  distance  ranging  all  the  way  from '5  to  20  feet  from  the 
ground. 

These  migrations  were  not  alwa\s  performed  for  the  purpose  of  ob- 
taining food,  as  I  have  frequently  seen  the  locusts  start  out  of  poplar 
trees  that  as  yet  had  not  been  much  injured  by  them,  of  the  leaves  of 
which  they  are  very  fond.  I  have  also  seen  them  fly  out  of  wheat-fields 
that  had  not  as  yet  been  harvested,  and  out  of  low,  waste  places  that 
were  covered  with  a  rank  growth  of  green  weeds. 

WHERE   DID   THESE   LOOUSTS   HATCH? 

As  the  wind  in  the  San  Joaquiu  valley  during  the  summer  season 
usually  blows  from  the  southwest,  so  the  course  of  the  locusts  would, 
in  most  cases,  be  directed  to  the  southwest,  since  they  invariably  fly 
against  the  wind. 

Several  persons  who  had  visited  the  foot-hills  lying  on  the  east  side 
of  this  valley  early  in  the  season  stated  to  me  that  the  locusts  were 
much  more  abundant  there  than  they  have  been  in  the  valley,  and  that 
they  appeared  there  much  earlier  in  the  season  than  they  did  in  the 
valley.  These  persons  were  nearly  always  of  the  opinion  that  the 
locusts  which  devastated  the  valley  hatched  out  in  the  foot-hills,  and 
that  as  soon  as  the  feed  on  the  foot-hills  began  to  fail,  the  locusts  mi- 
grated to  the  valley;  but  I  arrived  too  late  in  the  season  to  definitely 
settle  this  question,  as  the  locusts  were  already  very  numerous  in  the 
valley  when  I  arrived  there  early  in  June.  I  am  strongly  of  the  opin- 
ion: however,  that  the  greater  number  of  the  locusts  which  appeared 


iii  this  valley  the  present  season  were  produced  from  eggs  that  had 
been  deposited  here  during  the  preceding  autumn. 

As  above  stated,  when  1  arrived  at  the  Buhach  plantation  the  locusts 
were  most  abundant  along  the  outer  edges  of  the  orchards  and  vine- 
yards, while  the  more  central  parts  were  almost  wholly  free  from  them. 
Now,  if  the  locusts  had  migrated  to  this  plantation,  would  they  not 
have  been  found  as  often  in  the  center  of  the  orchards  and  vineyards 
as  along  the  outer  edges?  But  if  the  locusts  had  hatched  out  upon  the 
plantation  we  should  expect  to  find  them  the  most  numerous  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  uncultivated  land,  where  the  eggs  would  not  have  been  dis- 
turbed by  the  plow  and  cultivator ;  and  this  was  exactly  the  situation 
where  they  were  fche  most  numerous — in  the  vicinity  of  the  uncultivated 
land  along  the  outer  edges  of  the  orchards  and  vineyards.  Had  the 
eggs  been  deposited  last  autumn  in  the  more  central  parts  of  the  or- 
chards and  vineyards,  the  subsequent  cultivating  of  these  would  have 
destroyed  the  eggs,  so  that  no  locusts  would  have  hatched  out  in  such 
situations;  and  none  were  found  there. 

Moreover,  I  found  upon  the  uncultivated  land  referred  to  above  quite 
a  number  of  young  locusts,  which  were  evidently  the  young  of  the  De- 
vastating Locust  (M.  devastator),  since,  in  their  markings,  they  approach 
that  species  more  closely  than  they  do  any  other  of  the  Spine-breasted 
Locusts  which  inhabit  the  San  Joaquin  Valley.  The  following  is  a  de- 
scription of  these  young  locusts,  drawn  from  fresh  specimens: 

\  lend,  ashen-gray,  whitish  below  each  eye.  Thorax,  ashen-brown  ;  two  dark-brown- 
ish subdorsal  stripes,  one  on  each  side,  and  below  each  is  a  whitish  line,  then  a  dark 
spot  bordered  below  by  a  whitish  line.  Abdomen,  ashen-pink,  mottled  with  dark 
brown.  Venter,  whitish,  unmarked.  Legs,  ashen-yellow ;  hind  femora  with  a  longi- 
tudinal black  stripe  on  the  onter  side,  interrupted  at  the  middle  of  the  femur  and  sub- 
interrupted  at  the  first  one- fourth;  upper  side  of  hind  femora  marked  with  three* 
black  spots,  the  first  at  one-fifth,  the  second  at  two-fifths,  and  the  third  at  two-thirds 
the  length  of  each  hind  femur  from  its  base,  the  first  spot  sometimes  wanting,  the 
second  and  third  spots  extending  slightly  upon  the  inner  side  of  each  hind  femur 
before  the  tip.  There  is  a  blunt  spine  between  the  front  legs. 

In  all  of  these  characters  the  agreement  with  the  adult  Devastating 
Locust  is  very  close.  There  are  only  three  species  of  Spine  breasted 
Locusts  inhabiting  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  which  approach  this  species 
very  closely  in  their  markings;  and  from  each  of  these  both  the  adult 
Devastating  Locust  and  the  young  locusts  above  described  differ  as 
follows : 

Melanoplus  cinereus  Scudder  (the  Ash-colored  Locust),  has  no  black 
spots  on  the  hind  femora. 

Melanoplus  sp.  (probably  only  a  variety  of  devastator)  has  no  distinct 
black  subdorsal  stripes  on  the  thorax. 

Parooct/a  sp.  (near  atlantica  Scudd.)  has  the  subdorsal  stripes  of  the 
thorax  well  defined,  not  interrupted,  and  of  nearly  the  same  width 
throughout  their  entire  length,  while  in  the  adult  Devastating  Locust 
and  the  young  ones  above  described  these  stripes  taper  posteriorly,  are 
not  well  defined,  and  are  generally  interrupted. 

These  young  ones  quite  closely  resemble  those  of  the  Differential  Lo- 
cust (Caloptenus  differ  entialis  Thomas),  but  differ  in  having  no  black 
dots  on  the  groove  on  the  under  side  of  each  hind  femur. 

It  seems  quite  evident,  therefore,  that  the  young  locusts  above  de 
cribed  are  those  of  the  Devastating  Locust,  the  species  which  committed 
the  most  extensive  depredations  in  the  San  Joaquiii  Valley  the  present 
season ;  and  if  they  were  the  young  of  that  species,  then  the  latter 
breeds  in  the  San  Joaquiu  Valley,  since  it  would  have  been  quite  im- 
possible for  these  young  ones — many  of  which  were  not  more  than  one- 


8 

fourth  grown — to  have  fotiud  their  wny  to  the  Buhach  plantation  from 
the  foot-hills,  M  distance  of  from  15  to  20  miles. 

When  I  first  arrived  in  the  valley,  the  Devastating  and  Ash-colored 
Locusts  were  most  numerous  in  those  grain  fields  that  had  not  been 
plowed  for  a  year  or  more,  that  is,  in  fields  of  what  is  commonly  called 
"volunteer"  grain,  i.  e.,  self-seeded.  Some  of  the  locusts  remained  in 
these  fields  for  two  weeks  after  the  grain  had  been  harvested ;  by  the 
latter  part  of  July  scarcely  a  single  specimen  of  either  the  Devastating 
Locust  or  the  Ash-colored  Locust  could  be  found  in  these  fields,  but  the 
low  waste  places,  which  were  quite  numerous  in  and  near  all  of  the  grain 
fields,  and  which  were  covered  with  a  rank  growth  of  green  weeds,  were 
infested  with  immense  numbers  of  these  locusts,  which  doubtless  will 
breed  in  these  situations. 

These  waste  places  are  covered  with  water  during  the  latter  part  of 
the  winter  season,  and  sometimes  until  late  in  the  summer.  When  the 
proper  time  for  putting  in  the  seed  arrives  they  are  too  wet  to  be  plowed 
and  seeded,  and  are  therefore  allowed  to  remain  undisturbed  from  year 
to  year.  The  green  weeds  which  these  waste  places  contain  late  in  the 
season,  when  the  surrounding  fields  contain  nothing  green,  furnish  food 
to  the  locusts  until  their  egg- laying  season  arrive?,  when  they  will  doubt- 
less deposit  their  eggs  in  these  waste  places;  and  as  these  eggs  do  not 
hatch  until  the  following  spring,  they  must  be  covered  with  water  for  a 
period  of  two  or  three  months.  This  would  not  necessarily  destroy  their 
vitality  unless  they  were  covered  by  the  water  for  too  long  a  time,  since 
Professor  Eiley  has  ascertained  that  the  eggs  of  the  Eocky  Mountain 
Locust  (Galoptenus  spretus,  Uhler)  were  not  affected  by  being  submerged 
in  water  for  three  months  during  the  winter  and  early  spring.* 

I 

CAUSE  OF  THE  ABUNDANCE   OF    THE    DEVASTATING    LOCUST    IN   THE 
SAN  JOAQUIN    VALLEY  DURING   THE   SUMMER   OF   1885. 

If,  as  we  have  supposed  above  and  have  every  reason  to  believe  to  be 
a  fact,  the  Devastating  Locusts  deposit  their  eggs  in  these  waste  places, 
we  see  that  in  ordinary  seasons  these  locusts  will  not  appear  in  suffi- 
cient numbers  to  attract  attention,  since  the  water  will  be  removed,  by 
evaporation  or  otherwise,  from  the  more  elevated  portions  of  these 
waste  places  first,  and  therefore  the  eggs  which  have  been  deposited 
in  those  elevated  places  will  be  the  first  to  hatch  out,  followed  by  those 
that  had  been  deposited  in  less  elevated  places,  and  so  on.  It  follows 
that  those  hatched  out  the  earliest  will  be  the  first  to  acquire  wings  and 
migrate  to  the  adjacent  fields,  followed  after  a  certain  time  by  those 
hatched  out  next,  and  so  on.  By  coming  into  the  fields  so  gradually 
and  spreading  over  so  large  an  area  of  land,  their  presence  will  scarcely 
be  noticed.  It  is  also  quite  certain  that  many  of  the  eggs  are  destroyed 
by  being  too  long  covered  by  the  water,  since,  in  ordinary  seasons,  sev- 
eral of  these  waste  places  contain  water  until  quite  late  in  the  summer. 
Thus  it  happens  that  in  ordinary  seasons  the  locusts  never  appear  in 
sufficient  numbers  to  attract  attention. 

.  Last  winter,  however,  but  little  rain  fell,  and,  as  a  natural  conse- 
quence, what  little  water  was  collected  in  the  waste  places  soon  evap: 
orated,  leaving  these  places  perfectly  dry  for  some  time  before  the  time 
for  the  locust  eggs  to  hatch  out  had  arrived;  consequently,  when  the 
time  for  these  eggs  to  hatch  out  did  arrive,  they  all  hatched  out  within 
a  short  time  of  each  other,  and  as  they  would  ail  acquire  wings  and  mi- 

*  See  the  First  Annual  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Entomological  Commission,  pp.  359, 360. 


grate  to  the  adjacent  fields  nearly  at  the  same  time,  their  coming  all  at 
once,  or  within  a  short  time  of  each  other,  would  very  naturally  attract 
attention.  Moreover,  it  is  very  evident  that  they  appeared  in  greater 
numbers  the  present  season  than  they  do  in  ordinary  seasons,  since  none 
of  their  eggs  were  destroyed  by  being  covered  with  water  for  too  long 
a  time. 

As  stated  above,  the  locusts  left  the  grain  fields  this  season  a  few 
weeks  after  the  latter  had  been  harvested,  there  being  no  green  food 
for  them  to  obtain  in  these  fields ;  but  it  is  quite  probable  that,  as  last 
season  was  a  veiy  wet  one,  there  may  have  been  green  weeds  in  the 
grain  fields  as  late  in  the  season  as  the  locusts  deposit  their  eggs,  and 
if  such  was  in  reality  the  case,  then  we  may  suppose  that  many  of  the 
locusts  deposited  their  eggs  in  the  fields  last  autumn.  This  would  ac- 
count for  the  fact  that  the  locusts  were  most  numerous  the  present 
season  on  those  fields  which  had  not  been  plowed  for  over  one  year. 

From  the  above  facts  it  would  appear  that  whenever  there  is  a  very 
dry  winter  and  spring  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  there  will  be  an  abun- 
dance of  locust's  in  that  valley  during  the  following  summer ;  but  when 
there  is  an  abundance  of  rain  during  the  winter  and  spring  months 
there  will  not  be  an  unusual  number  of  locusts  during  the  following 
summer. 

In  the  latter  part  of  July  I  saw  several  pairs  of  the  Ash-colored  Locust 
(M.  cinereus]  united  in  coition, but  up  to  the  time  that  I  left  this  valley — 
the  first  week  in  August — I  did  not  see  a  single  pair  of  the  Devastating 
Locust  thus  united. 

THE   DIFFERENTIAL   LOCUST. 

The  Differential  Locust  (Caloptenux  differ entiaUx  Thomas)  was  only 
about  one  twenty-fifth  as  numerous  as  the  Devastating  Locust.  These 
two  species  and  the  Ash  colored  Locust  were  the  only  Spine  breasted 
Locusts  that  appeared  in  destructive  numbers  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley 
the  present  season.  The  only  other  species  of  Spine  breasted  Locusts 
that  I  took  in  that  valley  are  the  Acridium  shoshone  Thomas  ^  the  Hes- 
perolettix  viridis  (Thomas),  and  the  Paroxya  (near  atlantica  Sc.). 

When  I  first  came  to  this  valley,  early  in  June,  the  Differential  Locust 
was  mostly  in  the  wingless  state,  there  being  only  about  one  winged  speci- 
men to  ten  wingless  ones ;  by  the  last  week  in  July  the  greater  number 
of  them  had  acquired  wings.  On  the  23d  of  June  I  saw  the  first  pair 
united  in  coition,  but  the  majority  of  them  did  not  pair  until  about  three 
weeks  later.  After  coition,  and  before  the  eggs  are  deposited,  the 
abdomen  of  the  female  increases  very  much  in  size. 

The  first  egg-mass  which  I  saw  this  species  deposit  was  deposited  on 
the  23d  of  July.  The  location  chosen  was  a  shaded  place  on  the  north 
side  of  a  row  of  trees  and  in  a  sandy  soil.  A  basin-like  hole  had  been 
dug  in  the  ground  at  the  base  of  an  ornamental  tree,  and  had  been  filled 
with  water  a  day  or  so  previously,  for  the  purpose  of  irrigating  the  tree. 
The  female  locust  had  worked  her  abdomen  into  the  ground  on  the 
outer  edge  of  this  basin.  I  first  discovered  her  in  this  position  at  about 
3  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  at  15  minutes  past  4  o'clock  she  had  com- 
pleted depositing  an  egg-mass  and  walked  away. 

This  egg  mass  is  about  three  -fourths  of  an  inch  long,  slightly  curved, 
and  a  little  less  in  diameter  than  an  ordinary  lead  pencil.  The  space 
between  the  uppermost  eggs  and  the  surface  of  the  surrounding  earth 
was  filled  in  with  a  frothy  matter.  When  freshly  deposited  the  egg- 
mass  is  of  a  pale  bluish  color. 


10 
• 

On  several  succeeding  days  I  saw  many  females  of  this  species  deposit 
their  eggs,  and  in  nearly  every  instance  the  situation  chosen  for  this 
purpose  was  the  edge  of  one  of  the  basin-like  hollows  at  the  base  of  a 
tree. 

I  saw  several  of  the  females  make  numerous  attempts  to  sink  their 
abdomens  into  the  earth  upon  a  hard  beaten  walk,  but  always  without 
meeting  with  success.  They  do  not  appear  to  have  the  power  to  pene- 
trate hard  substances  that  is  possessed  by  some  locusts.  Upon  one  oc- 
casion I  saw  a  female  Chloealtis  conspersa  (Harris),  that  had  excavated 
a  hole  in  the  bark  of  a  burr-oak  log  by  means  of  the  horny  plates  at  the 
tip  of  her  abdomen ;  when  found  by  me  she  had  reached  a  depth  equal  to 
about  one-half  the  length  of  her  abdomen.  This  occurred  in  Northern 
Illinois. 

The  Differential  Locust  is  not  so  easily  startled  as  the  Devastating 
Locust  is,  and  its  flight  is  heavier  and  sustained  for  only  a  short  distance, 
seldom  flying  more  than  12  or  14  feet  at  a  time.  It  does  not  perform 
those  migrations  indulged  in  by  the  Devastating  and  Ash-colored  Lo- 
custs, seldom  taking  to  its  wings  except  when  disturbed. 

It  was  principally  found  in  trees,  being  especially  partial  to  the  leaves 
of  poplar  trees.  I  did  not  find  it  in  the  grain  fields,  and  it  occurred 
only  in  limited  numbers  in  the  low, -waste  places,  overgrown  with  weeds. 
It  was  very  numerous  in  alfalfa  fields,  where  it  probably  breeds,  as  young 
ones  of  all  sizes  were  very  numerous  in  these  fields. 

THE   YELLOW   LOCUST. 

The  only  species  of  Spineless-breasted  Locusts  (QVdipodince)  that  ap- 
peared in  destructive  numbers  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  the  present 
season  was  the  Yellow  Locust  (Trimerotropis  pxeudofasciata  Scudder), 
which  was  only  about  one-twentieth  as  abundant  as  the  Devastating 
Locust.  When  I  first  came  to  the  valley  early  in  June,  this  species  was 
most  numerous  in  grain  fields,  but  after  these  had  been  harvested  it 
migrated  to  new  pastures.  In  many  places  it  was  very  destructive  to 
the  leaves  of  grape-vines  and  low  trees,  but  it  was  very  seldom  found 
in  large  trees. 

The  flight  of  the  Yellow  Locust  is  more  undulating  than  that  of  the 
Devastating  Locust,  and  is  sometimes  continued  for  long  distances  at  a 
time.  They  do  not  always  fly  in  one  direction,  against  the  wind,  as  the 
last-named  species  almost  invariably  does,  but  fly  in  almost  every  direc- 
tion. They  do  not  all  start  at  once,  but  one  will  start  up  here,  another 
there,  and  so  on,  each  apparently  going  entirely  independent  of  the 
others. 

Their  flight  is  sometimes  accompanied  by  a  crackling  sound,  but  they 
appear  to  produce  this  sound  at  their  pleasure  while  on  the  wing.  Sev- 
eral other  species  of  Spineless-breasted  Locusts  ((Edipodincv)  can  also 
produce  this  sound  while  on  the  wing,  but  I  am  not  acquainted  with  a 
single  species  of  Spine  breasted  Locust  (Acridince)  that  ever  produces  a 
similar  sound. 

The  Yellow  Locusts  are  more  frequently  found  resting  upon  the  bare 
ground  than  in  any  other  situation,  but  during  the  hottest  part  of  the 
day  they  seek  the  shade  of  low  weeds,  grape-vines,  small  trees,  &c., 
which  they  usually  ascend,  but  never,  or  very  seldom,  go  very  high.  I 
have  frequently  seen  them  feed  upon  dry  leaves,  and  they  seem  to  pre- 
fer feeding  upon  these  on  the  ground  to  climbing  after  the  green  ones. 

I  have  also  seen  them  feed  upon  a  locust  that  had  but  recently  died; 
they  would  usually  begin  upon  the  side  of  the  thorax  nextto  the  head, 


11 

and  eat  away  the  whole  side  and  internal  parts  of  the  thorax,  sometimes 
also  devouring  the  greater  part  of  the  abdomen.  This  cannibalistic 
habit  seems  to  be  indulged  in  by  all  the  different  species  of  locusts  that 
inhabit  this  valley. 

1  saw  several  pairs  of  Yellow  Locusts  united  in  coition  in  the  latter 
part  of  June,  but  did  not  succeed  in  obtaining  any  eggs,  although  I  fre- 
quently saw  a  female  that  had  her  abdomen  sunken  its  whole  length 
into  the  loose  sand  in  the  grain  fields;  after  she  had  withdrawn  her 
abdomen  and  walked  away,  1  carefully  dug  up  the  earth  in  the  place 
where  her  abdomen  had  been  thrust  into  the  sand,  but  uev-er  succeeded 
in  obtaining  the  eggs.  As  the  situation  chosen  by  these  females  was 
in  the  open  fields  where  it  was  impossible  to  watch  their  movements 
unobserved  by  them,  it  is  quite  likely  that  my  presence  frightened  or 
otherwise  disturbed  them  to  such  an  extent  that  they  would  not  deposit 
their  eggs  so  long  as  I  was  within  view  of  them.  So  long  as  I  remained 
hidden  from  view,  the  female  Differential  Locust  would  continue  deposit- 
ing her  eggs,  that  is,  wheii  I  discovered  her  in  the  act  of  depositing 
eggs  some  distance  off,  and  my  presence  was  unknown  to  her;  but,  when 
I  came  upon  her  unawares  and  she  saw  me,  it  mattered  not  how  quickly 
and  carefully  I  withdrew  myself  from  her  sight,  she  always  refused  to 
deposit  any  eggs,  after  a  certain  time  withdrawing  her  abdomen  and 
walking  away.  Hence  1  believe  that  no  female  locust  will  deposit  her 
eggs  when  she  is  aware  of  the  presence  of  any  person. 

OTHER   SPECIES   OF   LOCUSTS. 

I  captured  eighteen  different  species  of  locusts  in  the  San  Joaquiii 
Valley  during  the  two  months  that  I  remained  in  that  valley.  In  order 
to  show  the  comparative  abundance  of  each  of  these  species,  I  sub- 
join herewith  a  list  of  those  determined,  with  numbers  attached  show- 
ing the  numbers  in  which  the  locusts  of  each  species  appeared  as  com- 
pared with  those  of  any  of  the  other  species.  Thus,  the  first  species  is 
represented  by  the  number  1  and  the  second  species  by  the  number  4, 
indicating  that  there  were  four  specimens  of  the  latter  species  to  every 
one  of  the  former,  and  so  on  throughout  the  list: 

Pxoloessa  tejcana  Scudder 

Hesperotetlix  viridis  Thomas 4 

Cotiozoa  wallula  Scudder 6 

Camnula  pellHcida  S<mdder & 

Acridium  shoshom  Thomas 10 

DixHoxleira  ren nst<i  St:ll 10 

Trimcrotrojtix  rinciildta  Scudder 5iO 

Trimerotropix  sp.  ? 40 

Trimerotropis  sp.  '{ 50 

Melanoplus  probable  var.  of  devastator -r>0 

Paroxya  near  atlantica 50 

Trimerotropi*  up.  I 75 

Diswsteira  upnrcala  Saussure 100 

Caloptenns  difftrentittlis  Thomas 750 

Melano^lu-H  cinereus  Scudder 1, 000 

Trinitrotrofjix  pseudofazciata  Scndder 1 , 000 

Melanoplus  devastator  Scudder ^0,  U<  0 

INJURY   COMMITTED   BY   THE   LOCUSTS. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  give  any  idea  of  the  injury  committed  by  the 
locusts  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  the  present  season.  A  majority  of 
the  trees  and  grape-vines  that  had  been  defoliated  by  them,  put  forth 
a  new  growth  of  leaves  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  weeks  from  the 


12 

buds  that  ordinarily  would  not  have  developed  until  the  following  sea- 
son; in  these  cases  the  only  injury  sustained  through  the  attacks  of  the 
locusts  was  a  partial  arrest  of  the  growth  of  the  trees  and  vines,  and 
in  many  cases  a  loss  of  the  fruit  upon  fruit-trees  and  grape-vines  in 
bearing. 

Grape-vines  that  had  been  stripped  of  their  leaves,  buds,  and  much 
of  their  bark,  sent  out  new  shoots  from  the  base  of  the  vines,  the  de- 
nuded part  dying  back  as  far  as  the  buds  arid  bark  had  been  removed. 
In  cases  where  the  bark  had  been  removed  but  the  buds  had  not  been 
injured,  these  buds  developed  a  new  set  of  leaves,  and  a  new  bark 
seemed  to  be  forming  in  those  places  where  the  old  bark  had  been  re- 
moved. 

Several  vineyardists  plowed  under  their  young  vines  to  save  them 
from  receiving  further  injury  from  the  attacks  of  the  locusts,  and  also 
to  prevent  them  from  drying  out,  and  the  majority  of  the  vines  treated 
in  this  manner,  in  the  course  of  three  or  four  weeks,  sent  up  a  new 
growth  through  the  thin  covering  of  earth  that  had  been  thrown  upon 
them  by  the  plow. 

The  devastations  committed  by  the  locusts  in  the  grain  fields  and 
vegetable  gardens  were  in  most  cases  irreparable.  Alfalfa  fields  were 
in  most  cases  kept  eaten  down  so  closely  by  the  locusts  that  not  a  sin- 
gle crop  of  hay  was  gathered  from  them. 

NATURAL  ENEMIES. 

Besides  several  kinds  of  domestic  animals,  such  as  hogs,  dogs,  cats, 
chickens,  ducks,  turkeys,  &c.,  I  have  also  seen  several  kinds  of  wild  ani- 
mals, birds,  and  insects  prey  ing  upon  the  locusts.  Among  these  is  a  large, 
ground  lizard,  or  swift,  as  it  is  commonly  called,  which  I  have  twice 
seen  catch  a  locust  in  its  mouth,  springing  upon  it  somewhat  as  a  cat 
would  spring  upon  a  mouse.  I  have  also  seen  the  following  birds  feed- 
ing upon  locusts:  Bullock's  oriole  (Icterus  bullockii),  a  sparrow  resem- 
bling the  Eastern  Song  sparrow  (Melospiza  melodia),  and  a  larger  spar- 
row having  a  patch  of  red  feathers  on  the  head. 

Among  insects  I  saw  two  different  species  of  wasps  preying  upon  the 
locusts.  The  most  common  species  is  the  Priononyx  atrata.  When  a 
locust  takes  to  its  wings  one  of  these  wasps  will  pounce  upon  it,  seize 
it  in  her  legs  and  bear  it  to  the  ground,  after  which  she  thrusts  her 
sting  into  it;  the  part  of  the  locust  into  which  the  sting  is  thrust  is  the 
under  side  of  the  thorax,  between  the  insertion  of  the  first  two  pairs  of 
legs.  Soon  after  being  stung  the  Locust  becomes  motionless,  when  the 
wasp  gets  astride  of  it,  seizes  its  an  tenure  with  her  jaws,  and  drags  the 
locust  to  her  burrow,  the  body  of  the  locust  being  under  and  directed 
in  the  same  direction  as  that  of  its  captor,  three  of  the  wasp's  legs  be- 
ing on  one  side  of  the  locust  and  three  on  the  other.  The  wasp  leaves 
the  locust  at  short  intervals  for  the  purpose  of  finding  her  burrow,  after 
which  she  returns  to  it  again  and  drags  it  a  short  distance  farther  in 
the  direction  of  her  burrow. 

I  have  seen  upwards  of  two  dozen  of  these  wasps  thus  dragging  lo- 
custs to  their  burrows,  which  are  always  made  in  loose,  sandy  soil,  and 
in  every  instance  the  victim  was  a  Devastating  Locust.  How  and  why 
they  always  select  this  species  for  their  victims  is  a  mystery,  since  there 
were  always  three  or  four  other  species  of  locusts  of  the  same  size  and 
nearly  of  the  same  color — among  which  may  be  mentioned  the  Ash- 
colored  Locust — always  associated  with  them;  still  I  never  saw  them 
attacking  any  other  species  than  the  Devastating  Locust. 

After  dragging  the  locust  into  her  burrow  the  wasp  stations  herself 


13 

in  front  of  the  latter,  her  head  directed  from  it,  and  then  with  her  front 
feet  she  throws  the  dirt  into  her  burrow,  occasionally  going  into  the  lat- 
ter apparently  for  the  purpose  of  scratching  the  dirt  into  the  farthest 
end  of  it,  soon  to  return  and  resume  the  tilling-up  process ;  in  this  way 
she  continues  until  the  burrow  is  tilled  up  and  not  a  trace  of  its  existence 
is  to  be  seen. 

In  digging  her  burrow  the  wasp  frequently  uses  her  strong  jaws,  but 
in  tilling  it  up  she  uses  her  feet  almost  altogether,  standing  upon  her 
two  hind  pairs  of  feet  and  scratching  with  her  front  ones  somewhat  as 
a  dog  would  ;  all  of  her  movements  are  very  rapid. 

I  saw  a  single  specimen  of  another  species  of  wasp  dragging  a  De- 
vastating Locust  to  her  burrow  ^  she  dragged  the  locust  into  her  burrow 
in  the  same  manner  that  the  Priononyx  atrata  did,  as  described  above. 

I  also  saw  a  single  specimen  of  the  8phex  rufiventris  dragging  a  wing- 
less cricket  (Anabrus  sp.)  to  her  burrow  in  a  similar  manner.  During 
the  fore  part  of  July  I  saw  several  pairs  of  these  tfphex  wasps  united 
in  coition  in  the  dooryardof  the  Buhach  plantation,  while  many  of  them 
were  lying  upon  the  ground  dead  ;  these  latter  I  judged  were  males 
which  had  died  after  coition  had  taken  place. 

On  the  20th  of  July  I  found  three  red  mites  attached  to  the  underside 
of  the  breast  of  a  Trimerotropis  sp.,  a  Spineless-breasted  Locust  having 
the  hind  wings  bluish  at  the  base.  These  mites  were  in  shape  like  an 
inverted  tea  cup,  and  were  doubtless  the  young  Trombidium  locustarum  ; 
but  unfortunately  they  escaped  before  a  careful  examination  of  them 
could  be  made,  and  I  did  not  succeed  in  obtaining  any  additional  speci- 
mens. 

On  the  Gthof  July  a  dipterous  larva,  about  9  millimeters  long,  issued 
from  an  oval  hole  in  the  side  of  the  thorax  next  the  head  of  a  Disso- 
steira  spurcata  which  I  had  inclosed  in  my  cyanide  bottle ;  this  larva 
died  before  pupating,  having  been  killed  by  the  cyanide,  as  it  was  not 
discovered  by  me  until  an  hour  or  more  had  elapsed  after  I  placed  the 
locust  in  the  bottle. 

This  was  the  only  specimen  of  this  parasite  that  I  obtained,  although 
I  dissected  many  hundred  locusts  in  search  of  additional  specimens, 
but  without  meeting  with  success. 

In  a  paper  on  the  North  American  Conopidce,  which  appeared  in  the 
Transactions  of  the  Connecticut  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  for  the 
month  of  March,  1885  (vol.  vi,  p.  889),  Dr.  S.  W.  Willistou,  quoting 
from  Brauer,  states  that  Conopa  is  sometimes  parasitic  upon  (Edlp(tda 
(a  genus  of  Spineless-breasted  Locusts).  The  only  species  ot  Conops 
that  I  have  taken  in  the  San  Joaquin  Valley  is  the  Physocephala  affmis, 
Williston  ;  and  the  Dipterous  larva  mentioned  above  may  have  belonged 
to  this  species. 

REMEDIES. 

As  soon  as  the  locusts  began  to  appear  in  destructive  numbers  upon 
the  Buhach  plantation,  the  superintendent,  Mr.  G-.  E.  Ladd,  tried  a  great 
many  means  of  destroying  them. 

Adjoining  this  plantation  on  the  west  is  an  alfalfa  field  that  literally 
swarmed  with  locusts;  many  of  them  found  their  way  to  the  adjacent 
trees  upon  the  Buhach  plantation,  and  to  intercept  them  Mr.  Ladd 
placed  a  windrow  of  dry  pyrethrum  steins  between  this  alfalfa  tield  and 
the  nearest  row  of  trees  upon  the  plantation.  In  the  evening  many  of 
the  locusts  would  crawl  into  this  windrow  for  the  purpose  of  spending 
the  night  therein,  and  late  at  night  the  windrow  was  set  on  fire  j  in  this 


14 

way  a  great  many  of  the  locusts  were  destroyed,  but  a  great  many  more 
passed  over  the  windrow  into  the  adjacent  trees. 

This  alfalfa  field  was  rolled  late  in  the  evening  with  a  heavy  wooden 
roller,  but  this  did  not  kill  very  many  of  the  locusts,  although  the 
ground  was  quite  level,  but  sandy.  I  have  repeatedly  stepped  squarely 
upon  a  locust  on  loose,  sandy  soil,  without  injuring  the  locust  in  the 
slightest  degree,  so  far  as  I  could  discover. 

A  small  patch  of  alfalfa  that  was  thickly  infested  with  locusts  was 
sprayed  with  a  solution  composed  of  1  part  of  the  kerosene  emulsion  (2 
gallons  kerosene,  1  gallon  water,  and  on^-half  pound  of  soap)  diluted 
with  4  parts  of  water,  but  the  locusts  were  not  killed  by  it.  Locusts 
immersed  in  the  undiluted  emulsion  died  a  few  minutes  afterwards. 

Mr.  G.  N.  Milco,  one  of  the  proprietors  of  the  Buhach  plantation,  tried 
the  experiment  of  driving  the  locusts  out  of  a  small  vegetable  garden  by 
burning  some  flowers  of  sulphur  on  the  windward  side  of  the  garden,  but 
the  locusts  were  not  visibly  affected  by  it.  Several  other  persons  also 
tried  this  remedy,  but  always  with  a  like  result. 

This  remedy  might  prove  effectual  in  localities  where  the  air  is  so 
damp  and  heavy  as  to  keep  the  smoke  near  the  ground,  but  in  a  climate 
where  the  air  is  so  light  as  it  is  in  the  San  Joaquiu  Valley  in  the  sum- 
mer time  it  will  avail  nothing,  as  the  smoke  rises  rapidly  in  the  air  and 
thus  is  not  brought  in  contact  with  the  locusts  upon  the  surrounding 
vegetation. 

>.r.  Frank  Smith,  whose  farm  adjoins  the  Buhach  plantation  on  the 
west,  had  a  trough  of  zinc  constructed,  the  dimensions  of  which  were 
about  as  follows:  Length,  6  feet;  width,  2  feet ;  depth,  18  inches.  This 
was  mounted  on  runners,  and  late  in  the  evening  it  was  drawn  by  a 
horse  through  the  orchard;  the  bottom  of  the  trough  was  covered  to  the 
depth  of  5  or  6  inches  with  strong  soap-suds. 

In  operating  it,  the  trough  was  drawn  beneath  a  tree  infested  with 
locusts ;  the  tree  was  then  struck  with  a  heavy  stick  that  had  been 
wrapped  in  several  thicknesses  of  cloth  to  prevent  bruising  the  tree  ;. 
by  this  operation  many  of  the  locusts  were  dislodged  from  the  tree  and 
fell  into  the  soap-suds  in  the  trough,  and  after  a  certain  quantity  of 
them  had  been  thus  collected  they  were  transferred  into  grain-sacks  and 
afterwards  beaten  to  death  with  a  heavy  club.  In  this  manner  a  great 
many  of  the  locusts  were  destroyed. 

This  plan  would  have  been  more  effectual  had  there  been  two  troughs 
instead  of  only  one,  so  that  there  could  have  been  a  trough  placed  on 
each  side  of  the  tree.  The  best  results  were  obtained  when  it  was 
operated  very  late  at  night,  when  the  locusts  were  somewhat  stupefied 
by  the  cold. 

A  remedy  that  has  been  very  successful  in  destroying  locusts  consists 
of  a  certain  proportion  of  bran,  arsenic,  sugar,  and  water;  these  have 
been  used  in  different  proportions,  but  the  one  that  appears  to  give  the 
best  results  consists  of  1  part  by  weight  of  arsenic,  1  of  sugar,  and  6  of 
bran,  to  which  is  added  a  sufficient  quantity  of  water  to  make  a  wet 
mash. 

This  preparation  is  usually  prepared  in  wash  tubs  or  half-barrels. 
One  of  these  is  filled  about  three  fourths  full  of  dry  bran,  and  to  this  is 
added  about  5  pounds  of  arsenic,  which  is  thoroughly  stirred  through 
the  bran  with  a  spade  or  shovel.  Five  pounds  of  sugar  is  next  thrown 
into  a  pail,  which  is  then  filled  with  water  and  the  sugar  stirred  until 
it  is  dissolved,  when  this  sugar- water  is  added  to  the  bran  and  arsenic 
and  the  three  well  stirred;  more  water  is  added  and  the  stirring  con- 
tinued until  every  portion  of  the  mash  becomes  thoroughly  saturated. 


15 

About  a  teaspoonfnl  of  this  mash  is  placed  at  the  root  of  each  tree, 
shrub,  or  plant  infested  with  locusts,  dropping  it  in  the  shade  when  this 
can  be  done.  In  the  case  of  low  shrubs  or  plants  nothing  more  need  be 
done,  as  the  locusts  will  find  their  way  to  the  poison,  but  when  large 
trees  are  treated  the  locusts  should  be  jarred  out  of  them,  or  be  driven 
out  with  long  poles. 

I  have  known  locusts  to  be  killed  by  eating  some  of  this  mash  that 
had  been  put  out  over  a  week  previously.  The  poison  works  very  slowly, 
and  when  put  out  early  in  the  morning  will  show  but  little  effect  upon 
the  locusts  until  quite  late  in  the  day.  A  Devastating  Locust  that  I 
saw  eating  the  mash  at  9  o'clock  in  the  forenoon  was  still  alive  at  6  in 
the  evening,  but  was  dead  when  next  examined  early  the  next  morning. 

Allowing  a  teaspoon  fill  of  this  mash  to  each  grape  vine  in  the  vine- 
yard— the  vines  being  7  or  8  feet  apart — this  will  require  about  10 
pounds  of  the  dry  bran  (and  arsenic  and  sugar  in  proportion)  to  each 
acre.  The  cost  of  the  material  will  vary,  but  should  not  exceed  50  cents 
for  each  acre  of  grape-vines,  including  cost  of  labor  for  mixing  and  ap- 
plying it.  For  orchards  the  cost  will  be  much  less  than  this. 

The  addition  of  sugar  to  this  mash  is  merely  for  the  purpose  of  caus- 
ing the  arsenic  to  adhere  to  the  particles  of  bran,  and  not  for  the  pur- 
pose of  increasing  its  attractiveness,  since  bran  is  more  attractive  to  the 
locusts  than  sugar.  This  I  have  demonstrated  to  my  own  satisfaction. 
A  quantity  of  sugar  was  placed  upon  the  ground  contiguous  to  an  equal 
quantity  of  bran  mash  ;  when  a  locust  came  to  the  sugar  he  would  eat  a 
little  of  it,  move  on  a  short  distance  and  again  take  a  few  bites  of  the 
sugar,  and  continue  in  this  manner  until  he  reached  the  mash,  when  he 
would  settle  down,  eat  his  fill,  and  tben  move  off.  The  locusts  which 
came  to  the  mash  before  reaching  the  sugar  would,  almost  without  ex- 
ception, eat  their  fill  of  the  inash  and  then  walk  away,  but  occasionally 
one  would  leave  the  mash  and  take  a  lew  bites  of  the  sugar,  only  to  re- 
turn to  the  mash  again.  None  of  them  ate  their  till  of  the  sugar,  but 
always  manifested  an  evident  preference  for  the  mash. 

This  mash  was  used  upon  about  300  acres  of  orchard  and  vineyard  on 
the  Buhach  plantation,  and  about  two  weeks  later  scarcely  a  living 
locust  was  to  be  seen  where  they  could  have  been  counted  by  the  hun- 
dred or  even  thousands  before  the  poison  had  been  applied,  the  ground 
in  many  places  being  literally  covered  with  the  dead  bodies  of  the  slain. 

Several  other  parties  also  used  this  poisonous  mash,  and  so  far  as  I 
was  able  to  learn,  it  gave  entire  satisfaction  in  every  instance. 

By  exercising  only  ordinary  precautions  there  need  be  no  fear  of  en- 
dangering the  lives  of  either  man  or  any  of  the  domestic  animals  in  using 
this  poisonous  preparation.  It  should  be  mixed  in  a  close  room  to  pre- 
vent the  arsenic  from  being  blown  about  by  the  wind.  There  is  no  need 
of  touching  the  arsenic  or  the  mixture  with  the  hands,  as  the  mixing 
and  distributing  is  accomplished  by  means  of  spades,  shovels,  wooden 
paddles,  &c. 

Of  course  this  mixture  should  not  be  put  out  in  places  where  poultry 
or  any  of  the  domestic  animals  can  gain  access  to  it.  Upon  the  Buhach 
plantation  were  four  greyhounds  and  several  cats  that  were  allowed  to 
roam  about  the  plantation  where  this  mixture  had  been  put  out  for  the 
locusts:  still  at  the  time  that  I  left  the  plantation — about  four  weeks 
after  the  poisonous  mixture  had  been  put  out — not  one  of  them  had 
been  killed  either  by  eating  of  the  mixture  itself,  or  of  the  locusts  that 
had  been  poisoned  by  it. 

There  were  also  several  barnyard  fowls  upon  this  plantation,  but  not 
one  of  them  was  poisoned  from  having  eaten  locusts  that  may  have 


16 

found  their  way  to  the  poultry  range  after  having  eaten  of  the  poison- 
ous mixture.  Mr.  Boynton,  whose  farm  adjoins  the  Buhach  plantation 
on  the  west,  stated  to  me  that  many  of  the  locusts  which  had  eaten  of 
the  poisonous  mixture  would  fall  into  an  irrigating  ditch  that  flowed 
through  his  poultry  yard,  and  many  of  the  locusts  were  thus  carried 
within  the  reach  of  his  fowls;  still  he  was  not  aware  that  any  of  the  lat- 
ter had  died  from  the  effects  of  having  eaten  of  the  poisoned  locusts. 

In  fact,  I  did  not  learn  of  a  single  instance  where  this  mixture  had 
caused  the  death  of  any  person,  nor  of  any  domestic  animal,  although 
it  was  used  very  extensively  in  many  parts  of  the  San  Joaquiu  Valley. 
Neither  were  the  birds  killed  in  any  considerable  numbers  from  hav- 
ing eaten  either  of  the  mixture  itself  or  of  the  locusts  that  had  been 
poisoned  by  it.  During  the  four  weeks  following  the  putting  out  of 
this  mixture  upon  about  300  acres  of  the  Buhach  plantation,  I  found 
only  about  half  a  dozen  dead  birds  that  had  evidently  met  their  death 
through  the  agency  of  this  mixture ;  these  consisted  of  three  or  four 
meadow  larks,  a  bee-bird,  and  a  field  sparrow. 

Rabbits  and  hares,  or  "  jack  rabbits,"  as  they  are  commonly  called, 
were  destroyed  in  large  numbers  by  this  mixture.  After  the  greater 
numbers  of  locusts  upon  the  Buhach  plantation  toad  been  destroyed  the 
work  of  extermination  was  carried  into  a  large  patch  of  wild  sunflowers 
adjoining  the  plantation  on  the  north,  and  as  one  of  the  results,  at  least 
two  dozen  hares  paid  the  penalty  with  their  lives. 

The  four  greyhounds  belonging  to  the  plantation  were  among  these 
poisoned  hares  almost  every  day;  still  I  never  saw  one  of  them  attempt 
to  feed  upon  the  poisoned  hares;  certain  it  is  that  not  one  of  them  met 
his  death  from  this  cause. 

As  the  mixture  is  saturated  with  water  before  it  is  put  among  the 
plants  infested  with  locusts,  there  is  no  danger  of  its  being  blown  about 
by  the  wind ;  and  tjiere  is  also  very  little  danger  of  its  being  deposited 
upon  the  fruit  by  the  feet  of  birds  and  insects  that  may  have  alighted 
upon  the  mixture  and  afterwards  flown  to  and  alighted  upon  the  fruit. 
As  the  mixture  becomes  dry  its  particles  adhere  together,  forming  a 
solid  mass  which  could  not  be  blown  about  by  the  wind. 

I  have  never  seen  this  poisonous  mixture  used  in  grain  fields,  but 
know  of  no  reason  why  it  would  not  prove  very  effectual  in  such  fields. 
Great  care  should  be  exercised  in  using  it  in  alfalfa  fields,  but  if  it  were 
placed  upon  small  pieces  of  boards  it  could  doubtless  be  used  with  en- 
tire safety  in  such  fields;  but  of  course  it  would  not  be  safe  to  pasture 
any  animal  in  such  fields,  even  after  the  poison  had  been  removed. 

Where  it  is  desired  to  destroy  locusts  infesting  trtjes  or  shrubs  in 
places  where  it  would  not  be  safe  to  use  the  poisonous  mixture  described 
above,  this  can  be  accomplished  by  placing  blankets  upon  the  ground 
beneath  the  tree  or  shrub  and  spraying  the  latter  with  a  solution  com- 
posed of  1  pound  of  buhach  thoroughly  stirred  in  10  gallons  of  water. 
This  solution  will  be  more  effectual  if  2  or  3  pounds  of  glucose  is  added 
to  it,  first  dissolving  the  glucose  in  hot  water;  the  addition  of  the  glu- 
cose is  for  the  purpose  of  causing  the  solution  to  adhere  more  firmly  to 
the  bodies  of  the  locusts,  while  its  presence  does  not  appear  to  have  an 
injurious  effect  upon  the  leaves  of  such  trees  as  the  Carolina  Poplar. 

The  best  time  lor  applying  this  solution  is  late  at  night,  and  the  stiller 
the  night  the  more  effect  the  solution  will  have  upon  the  locusts.  In  a 
few  minutes  after  it  is  applied  the  locusts  will  begin  to  drop  down  upon 
the  blanket  placed  under  the  tree,  and  in  the  course  of  half  an  hour  all 
of  the  locusts  that  have  been  touched  by  the  solution  will  be  lying  upon 
the  blanket  in  a  perfectly  helpless  condition,  when  they  can  easily  be 


17 

destroyed.  One  way  of  accomplishing  this  is  to  gather  the  locusts  in  a 
pile,  cover  the  latter  with  straw  and  then  set  fire  to  it;  or  they  may  be 
collected  in  grain  sacks  and  immersed  in  scalding-hot  water  until  life 
is  extinct,  after  which  they  may  be  fed  to  hogs  or  to  poultry. 

One  of  the  best  nozzles  that  I  have  ever  used  for  spraying  this  solu- 
tion is  the  u  Cyclone"  nozzle,  originally  introduced  by  the  Department 
of  Agriculture.  It  throws  a  very  fine  spray,  and  by  its  use  the  upper 
as  well  as  the  under  surface  of  the  leaves  can  be  directly  sprayed — an 
object  that  could  not  be  attained  in  using  the  old  "San  Jos6"  nozzle, 
which  threw  a  spray  from  its  end  instead  of  from  one  of  its  sides. 

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